Say When
by Shadows of a Dream
Summary: Luke and Annabeth were always friends, but it wasn't until later that he began to consider it might be something more than that. A series of one-shots detailing Annabeth/Luke, from their meeting onward. Includes The Fray "Say When" lyrics. R&R!
1. Terrified

A rustle. A dull clank of trash can on trash can.

_Thwack, thwack, thwack_. Sneakers on concrete.

The night is too silent. I've heard her even before she tries to make her move.

She tries to dart in, grab my sandwich, and dissapear from sight, but I have my sword in hand before she even gets close. Heard her footsteps. It was an instinctive reaction. The girl stumbles back for a moment, and I get a quick look at her - young, grey-eyed, blond - and then I realize she's weilding a hammer.

_Clang_. The girl's hammer collides with my sword-blade. I twist around and bear down on her wrist, but not to hurt her, just to disarm her. There's a grating screech of weapons, and I hear the girl give a cry, something between pain and shock, but she drops the hammer. It falls to the concrete with a hollow _thud_.

Our eyes meet for the first time.

Grey eyes meet my own, wide with the raw terror, the constant questioning of a child who's been running for a while. Those eyes hold mine for a long moment that feels frozen in time, as though the seconds have ceased to pass. We just look at each other.

Fourteen-year-old boy, sword in hand.

Girl that couldn't be older than seven, staring numbly at her fallen hammer. Probably the only weapon she has.

**...**

_I see you there, don't know where you come from  
Unaware, the stare from someone  
Don't appear to care that I saw you, and I want you.  
_**...**

A split second later, and the girl's stumbling back through the trash cans, trying to get away. I grab the edge of her sleeve and hold her back. She's panting, her face paper-white. She gives a yell, struggles, but I grip her shoulder and she knows she can't win. I slowly turn her around, examining her.

Seven-year-olds don't just hide in trash cans and attack people everyday, so that's reason enough for me to figure out exactly who this kid is before I just let her run off. And I sensed something in that brief exchange of blows, a cold spark of life that I'd only felt once before. But in Thalia Grace – a half-blood.

The little girl shivers, a quiet whimper escaping her lips.

I lower my sword. "It's alright, it's alright... Y-You okay?"

The girl studies me critically, her misty grey eyes slowly taking me in. Her eyes flit to me, then flutter down to the hammer, then fly back up to my face again, as if she's wondering whether I'll try something.

"It's okay," I say, keeping my voice low. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She rubs her wrist. "Well, _that_ hurt."

"I'm sorry about that," I laugh lightly. "But you did try to jump me, you know." I lay my sword on the ground by her hammer. "See? I'm not going to hurt you."

I crouch down on one knee so we're eye-to-eye – grey-eyed little girl, renegade boy. The girl shivers, probably not just from the cold. She looks terrified. But her eyes blaze with a half-blood's fire.

"Are you a monster?" she ventures.

"No."

"Are you _helping _the monsters?"

"No."

She swallows. "Are you a friend?"

It takes me less than minute to answer. "Yes."

The girl smiles, and for a moment, she's just a normal kid. None of the fear, the uncertainty, the panic. It's gone, and she's just smiling nervously at me, observing my reaction.

"Thanks. I need a friend."

I can't help but smile back. "What's your name?"

"Annabeth," she says. She's shuddering. I wonder where she's been, but then I decide I don't want to think about it.

She's here now, that's all that matters. If she's a half-blood, I need to protect her. We're family. That's what families do. But I don't like the implications of having another demigod in our clan. It's already been rough – another mouth to feed, and it'll get rougher. I don't like how it feels as though we're driving blind into a fight that won't end well... for any of us.

But she's so terrified. We have to do something.

My thoughts have distracted me. What was her name?

_Annabeth._

**...**

_What's your name?  
Cause I have to know it  
You let me in and begin to show it  
We're terrified, cause we're heading straight for it, might get it.  
_**...**

"Hey, Annabeth." I take her hand; turn her around to face my ally. "That girl there, you see her? That's Thalia. She's a friend, too. We're fighting monsters together."

The fire flares in the girl's – Annabeth's – eyes again, and I get the feeling that she's dealt with more than her fair share of monster attacks. Her grey irises are vivid – sharp and perceptive – sparkling like burnished silver. A daughter of Athena; she must be. No wonder she's being so logical in her first impressions of us.

"Can you help me?" she bursts out.

Thalia takes over, kneeling down beside Annabeth. She lifts the younger girl's hand, grasping it tight. A sign of friendship. "Help you with what, sweetie?"

"The monsters," she says. The tears in her eyes glint in the moonlight. "I'm scared. I'm really, _really_ scared..."

"It's okay," Thalia says. "We're friends. Right, Luke?"

I nod. "Friends."

Annabeth manages a small smile.

**...  
**_You're in the song playing on the background  
All alone, but you're turning up now  
And everyone is rising to meet you, to greet you  
_**...**

**A/N: **The song lyrics are by The Fray; the song is "Say When." It's not the whole song yet, I'm working through several Annabeth/Luke incidents, and the lyrics will continue as I move forward in time. These are one-shots, chronological, although flashbacks may be included later.

Please review! And thanks for reading.

Updates will hopefully come. Reviews, of course, will encourage me to continue!


	2. Breaking Down

I stare out at the black night.

I hear her footsteps before I see her, her light ascent of the staircase as she moves to stand beside me on the porch. I don't bother pretending I'm fine; she knows me well enough to tell when I'm lying, and she might just be the only person that I wouldn't bother deceiving, anyway.

"Hey, Luke," she greets.

**...**

_Turn around, and you're walking toward me  
_**...**

I turn just enough to get a look at her. She's so calm, so logical. I hate that about her sometimes.

"Hey," I manage.

We just look at each other for a while, her grey eyes fixated on mine, and for a moment we're children again. Still thinking that our parents love us. Still believing that we can take on any monster who dares to come our way.

I'm not a child anymore.

Neither is Annabeth. She looks even older in the moonlight, somehow. It makes her skin glow faintly, like she's made of porcelain. Her blond hair shines in the blue-white hue of the moon.

"You're beautiful in the moonlight," I whisper.

I swear, I could've seen her blush from halfway across camp. "Thanks," she says, and I can hear her breathing quicken. She inhales deeply, lets out a long exhale. Her breathing slows to a steady tempo in sync with my skipping heart.

I turn away; stare back out at the empty, cold expanse of the night sky.

**...**

_I'm breaking down, and you're breathing slowly_

**...**

It's too quiet. I strain to break the silence, something that's usually effortless for us. But not tonight. Not after today's announcement.

_My fault –_

I get the words out, any words are better than this. "So what'd you do today?"

"Read some books, mostly."

"Why am I not surprised?" I tease, but the humor is gone from my voice. The words stick in the back of my throat, dry and empty.

"I have to be ready for when my quest comes, right?" Annabeth says.

I swallow hard. She means well, I just can't stand to think this is my fault. "I'm sorry," I choke out. "About everything."

Her hand wanders up to catch my shoulder, a wordless comfort. "It wasn't your fault."

"You'll never get your quest now." I grind my teeth, bite my lip so hard, it almost bleeds. "I did this, Annabeth. I did this. It _is _my fault. And I'm sorry."

"I don't need a quest that badly, Luke," she says. The words are hollow, and she no doubt knows that I can tell.

My eyes burn at the starless sky. "Annabeth, I know you're lying."

She tries to speak. I see her lips start to part into a word, but a choked gasp lodges in her throat and suffocates her voice. She gasps hard.

_My fault –_

I see her grey eyes mist over, a haze of tears beginning to force their way through her stone expression. She squares her jaw. The tears don't stop. I see them begin to streak her red cheeks.

"I'm sorry," I sigh. "I know how much you wanted this. I've ruined it, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She smiles, just enough. "I know you didn't mean for things to end this way."

"I'm sorry," I say again.

Her hand on my shoulder tightens, like she's afraid she's losing me, she's trying to hold me close. "You can stop saying that," she says. "I forgive you."

"Of course you do," I growl, through gritted teeth. "You're stupid that way."

"I'm the daughter of Athena. If I'm stupid, you're a satyr."

I have to laugh at that. "Okay, not stupid."

"And you said I was beautiful."

"Don't push it."

"Well, you did."

My smile widens. "I guess that's because it's true," I say, turning to face her.

She blushes again, fiercely. "I... thanks." She releases my arm, like she's afraid she's pushed to far, crossed some boundary.

Her intense gaze burns into my own. My heart leaps, bouncing against my ribs. A knot ties itself in my chest. Something about those eyes... I can't breathe right. She looks at me, and I can't think.

**...**

_Say the word, and I will be your man, your man  
_**...**

I find myself reaching out to touch her hair, probably could be more subtle at least, but I've never been subtle. I stretch out tentatively. To my shock, she doesn't push me away. My heart races _thump, thump, thump _with my scattered thoughts and uneven breathing.

My fingers slide down, and my palm finds her shoulder, settles there.

She smiles, nervously. She's never nervous, _except around me _I realize, and I'm not sure what to make of that.

Her fingers move up to trace the white scar on my face, slowly moving down the jagged mark. "I can't stay mad at you. I thought I could but... you've dealt with enough, and I... you're my friend. I just – _can't_ –"

My hand on her shoulder shifts, eases up to rest against the side of her neck. Her eyes widen, still she's nervous, but she's very still, shivering ever so slightly against my palm.

** "**I know you wanted a quest more than anything," I whisper.

"I wanted it. More than anything... I don't know," she admits, blushing again. Always blushing. "I wouldn't want to go without you, anyway. I just... I've never had a real family – you know, just... parents that _love_ me, I've never had that." She pauses. Words fail her. "I've never done anything right, and I just need to do something... for myself. To prove myself, if only so I can know I'm not the – the _demon _he treated me like... _like_..."

A fresh swell of tears pushes out of her eyes. She blinks repeatedly, but it only serves to make it worse. She stares at the floor. The skin of her neck is cold beneath my fingers.

**...  
**_Say when  
And my own two hands will comfort you  
Tonight, tonight_

**...**

I don't know how or why, but I'm leaning closer to her. She hesitates. My heart skips, hammers inside of my chest, and something twists horribly inside of me, terrible, until I see her lean towards me, slowly, nervously (as always, so nervous with me,) but I'm not scared. I'm not subtle. I'm stupid for trying this, and she doesn't care.

Our lips meet. I'd like to say that everything changes, but the amazing thing is, it doesn't. It's exactly the same, but it's more beautiful, closer, _intimate_... I'm falling into the embrace of the best friend I have, swimming in those grey eyes.

I gasp for air, unable to draw in oxygen. She is all I see, all I feel.

_My fault –_

My fault that she's trapped in camp, that she'll never get a quest, that everything she's worked for is impossible –

And it doesn't matter.

Our kisses begin to intensify, all the naked, unsheltered emotion that's always been between us, pouring out into each other. I can feel the passion in the way her lips move with mine, the urgency in my response. My other hand moves up to intertwine with her hair, and I see that my fingers are shaking. I'm terrified and perfectly secure, but at the same time.

**...**_  
Say when  
And my own two arms will carry you  
Tonight, tonight  
_**...**

When she pulls away, sharply – because it's Annabeth that ends the kiss, I don't know when I would have – her cheeks are beet red. Her icy breath blows against my face. Her lip quivers; she trips over her words.

"I'm sorry," she chokes out.

"For what?"

"For letting you do that."

I breathe hard. "I'm not sorry."

"It can't be this way," she whispers. "Not if you're ever going to prove yourself to Chiron again. Not if I'm going to earn a quest, regardless of what you've done. I can't hold you back like this, can't let this hold _us _back..."

"There is an _us_?" I retort, sudden rage in my voice. I hate this lie I've told myself. She doesn't, couldn't, won't love me, and I'm so stupid, so stupid, so _stupid_... She should hate me.

_My fault –_

She forces the words out, looking right at me as she says them. "We're friends now. We can't afford to do this to each other. We can't play these games, not now."

She's so rational. Why does she have to be so rational?

I stare into the void of the sky. "Friends _now_?"

"Friends," she whispers. "For now."

I have no choice; she's dead honest, and as always, she's right.

I decide that friends is enough.

For now.

**...**

** A/N: **More to come. Reviews! Please!


	3. Close, Closer

The other campers pity me. Only Annabeth deliberately seeks me out for sparring practice. Sometimes, I think she's letting me win, just to remind me that I'm a fighter. That I won't give in. That one failed quest can't ruin this.

Sunset's light – scarlet flashes across the sky. That's when we meet, every night, alone in the starlight. We stand on the porch, trying to hide the silence with lifeless words. But it feels like there's a rock in my chest, like I've frozen over, a layer of ice covering me. I have to shield myself from her. I've never had to hide from her before, but now I need to. For both of us.

There are times when one of us loses control, comes too close. Anything, sometimes the most unexpected things, can trigger it. One careless word. One slip, a secret confession escaping, hovering uncertainly in the air between us.

I frighten her on some nights. I curse the gods, curse Mount Olympus. I swear that when I earn my way, when I leave this stupid camp on a _real _quest, I will ensure that Annabeth's goals are realized. I will set her free from her bonds. I will fight the deadly force of fate. I will outwit the gods and the games they play with us.

There are times when we break down, only when nobody's watching. Her tears start again, slowly at first, and she blinks them away... but it still hurts to see her like that. Sometimes, I just glare at the sky and swear I will find a way to change this. Restart. Rebuild.

Once, her resolve falters, I feel her pull in closer, and I can't bring myself to push her away. Close now. Closer. She practically falls into me, resting her head against my chest, her arms wrapped around me in a hug that's too tight to be casual. Her eyes close; she's safe here. The jagged, trembling rise and fall of her chest against mine sends a chill, a shudder, shivering up my spine.

**...**

_Come close, and then even closer  
We bring it in, but we go no further_

**...**

I can't help myself. I hold her there. I wrap one arm around her, pressing her tightly against me, and place the other on her shoulder, against the side of her neck. Her soft hair intertwines with my fingers.

I don't just hear, but _feel_ the sigh of relief that escapes her. I can feel her breathing. Her heart thuds hollowly against my chest. Our heartbeats race together, tumbling too fast, but neither of us care. Neither of us has the strength to pull away.

Close. _Closer._

But no further. Not now.

We don't kiss again. There are times when we hover on the edge, so close, listening to each other's breathing. But we don't. Somehow. We care enough for each other to hold back, so much as we can. We both have obligations. We can't let this go too far, can't hold each other back.

The words carry on, but the fire is gone. It burns beneath the surface, dangerous passion, but in hiding it we both can feel our connection slipping away.

She looks pale, not porcelain, in the moonlight. Her lips tremble on words that start but don't escape into audible sound, because she has to restrain them. I try to crack jokes, but when I hear her laughter, see that familiar sparkle in her grey eyes, my thoughts scatter and I lose myself in her.

**...**

_We're separate  
Two ghosts in one mirror, no nearer_

**...**

But we have to try. I owe her that much. We're more than friends, less than lovers. We're family. Always have been.

Family is worth fighting for.

**...**

**A/N: **Thank you for the reviews! OhMyFinnickOdair: Read the books, I tell you! Read them! You will love them! SparkoftheForgotten: Omigosh! :) I almost made you cry! MIGHTYRULEROFGUMMYBEARS: Gosh, you've reviewed ALL of my PJO fics... thanks for the review, but, uh, you're kind of... freaking me out. xD

Thanks, guys. R&R!

More to come. I'm not out of song lyrics just yet!


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